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Lindsay Howells has been farming in Oregon City, Oregon since 2016, and demonstrates her care for the land through farming. She grows an astounding array of produce on just 1/3 acre–including a unique variety of garlic that her customers have completely fallen in love with. 
CNG: Where is your farm located?
Lindsay Howells: Oregon City, Oregon about 20 minutes outside of Portland.
CNG: How long have you been farming?
LH: I started the farm here 4 years ago. The first farm I worked on was in Thailand in 2009 and then I came back and worked on a farm on Bainbridge Island in Washington, and ever since then I’ve been collecting various farming and homesteading skills. I now grow on a third of an acre. I call it “ninja farming”. Everything is close together! 

CNG: How did you first get into farming, and growing garlic specifically?
LH: I always grew up wanting to do something that made a difference in the world, and with an appreciation for nature. During and after college, I started working at a farm to table restaurant where we got to tour the farms where our food was produced, and I became interested in that side of things. Sustainable farming became something that makes me feel optimistic about the future of our planet–that there are positive actions we can take to heal the world. 
Garlic is definitely something that we wanted to grow from the beginning. It was part of my plan to be a really diversified farm and to start a CSA. When you’re a small farm and have different things to think about, those longer-in-the-field and longer-storage items like garlic are such a relief. We plant it in our winter squash beds, right after harvesting squash every year.
We got super lucky with our garlic seed. I had a friend who was stopping farming. He gave us a bunch of seed called “Thai Fire,” a turban variety. It’s really good, has a beautiful pungent, flavor and it heads up beautifully. I grow all hardnecks because I love the scapes. I’m thinking about incorporating soft necks, too, for their longer storage, and the possibilities of making gifts like braided garlic.
We had a few garlic varieties our first year but we didn’t love anything as much as Thai Fire. This special variety does really well at the market, and people ask for it every year. It’s great when you have a variety that works for you that sells well–it helps build ongoing relationships with customers.
We also make garlic salt with unsellable heads. We’re expanding more beds this year so that we can have garlic all summer, and garlic salt in the fall.
CNG: Why did you decide to join CNG? How has it impacted your business?
LH: CNG was recommended to us when we started our farm by the market manager at OC farmers market. They require that new farms demonstrate natural and sustainable practices. We signed up for CNG during our first year. 
CNG is a great way to talk with other farmers. Peer reviews and on-farm inspections are great ways to find out how other farms are growing and thriving. 
Also, CNG offers such a nice, easy way to talk to customers about farming practices. Most people are concerned about chemicals. They’ll ask if we spray, and we say no, and that’s often as far as the conversation goes. But being CNG enables us to extend that conversation, with a brochure or flyer to give them all the information they need in a really warm, accessible way. 

“I especially look up to other CNG farms.. I love the shared knowledge that we are building together.”
CNG: Please tell us about any farming heroes or mentors of yours.
LH: My biggest farm heroes are my farm friends and other farmers in my area that I look up to. I especially look up to other CNG farms like Brown Bottle Farm and Sun Love Farm, who are both at the market with me. Anytime I’m concerned or questioning something I can ask them. I love the shared knowledge that we are building together.
Other big mentors of mine are the people who I farmed with in Washington, years ago. The farm was a small Certified Organic and Certified Biodynamic farm (no longer in operation). Working there I got to learn about the logistics and magic of farming. We farmed with the stars and the moon, and I really want to bring that to the farm here.
I am also very inspired by the permaculture mindset, and would like to integrate more medicinal perennials and bring in more diversity from different types of plants. I’d love to plant a food forest, for example.
CNG: How did you come to have a commitment to sustainability?
LH: Farming definitely is one of the few things that I’ve found in my life and in the world that feels like an action in optimism about the future. It’s something that is simultaneously small and big at the same time. As a farmer, I get to see the world through this lens where local is so important, inspiring and actionable. I believe that small actions can change a landscape, and that’s what makes me optimistic about the future.

Congratulations to These 50 Newly-Certified Farmers and Beekeepers
We are delighted to welcome these 50 farmers and beekeepers who have completed all the requirements for CNG certification since the end of June. They are listed below alphabetically by state and province.

Hawkins Homestead Farm​,  AL
Lotta ​Rock ​Farm​,  AR
Singer Services​,  AR
Bassett Farms​,  AR
Bill’s Berry Farm​, ​AR
Southern Seed Garlic​, ​AR
Thrive and Grow Farms​, ​AZ
Schaffer Farms​,  AZ
Milleflora Farm​,  CA
FourK Farms​, ​C​​A
Left Hand Wool Company​, ​CO
Push N Daisies​, ​CO
Rocky Mountain Garlic​, ​CO
SoulsInSoil​, ​FL
Hyldemoer + Co.​, ​FL
Berman Hill Farms​, ​GA
Deer Creek Farm​, ​GADew Point Farm​, ​GA
Wild Fern Ranch​, ​GA
Garlic Gods​, ​ID
Illinois Country Harvest​, ​IL
Sweet Life Farms​, ​KY
River City Aquaponics​, ​KY
Gizmo’s Greens​, ​MD
Huddleson Farm​, ​MI
Long Valley Farm​, ​MI
Northern Lavender​, ​MI
The Wokestead​, ​MI
Wendi’s Sunset Lavender, LLC​, ​MI
Hedge Family Farm, NC
Luter Brook Farm LLC​, ​NC
Old Field Lavender Farm​, ​NC
Stick Figure Farms​,  NCSeeburger’s Micro Homestead Farm​,  NY
Queens Farms​,  NY
Varner Farms LLC​, ​OH
Thorntree Farm​,  OK
Goldfarm Canada​, ​ON
Hinterhof Farm​,  PA
Hazel & Olive Urban Farm​, ​PA
Promised Land Bee Farm​,  SC
Little Mountain Microgreens​, ​TN
CD&J Mini Ranch​,  TX
All Things Farm​, ​VA
Blenheim Farm​, ​VA
Five Cardinals Farm​, ​VA
Hazlett & Sons Apiary​, ​VA
Birdhous L3C​, ​VT
Second Chance Farm LLC​, ​WV

The Latest Reads

Are there any new CNG members near you? Check out our searchable map of CNG farms, enter your zip code, and find out! 

Sending big thanks to the Certified Naturally Grown garlic farmers who shared their input to help create these two new signs! 

These signs celebrate the beauty and joy of sustainably grown garlic. One sign shows a bountiful harvest of garlic and the other features lively garlic scapes. These laminated signs are only $5 each, and measure 8.5″x11″. 
Both are available to our members in the CNG store. Easily find the sign there by clicking the images above. Note these items are only available to Certified Naturally Grown producers, not the general public. Therefore, it’s necessary to be logged into your certification account to view any marketing items like these in the store. 
If your garlic farm isn’t yet Certified Naturally Grown, we encourage you to consider joining CNG today. Together we’re stronger!

Hoe in hand, hand weeding the garlic. Goeffrey Yockey (right) and Jaykob Dolquist (left)
We wanted to learn a little more about what it’s like to be a Certified Naturally Grown garlic farmer, so we spoke with Jana Yockey of Garlic Gods in the Magic Valley region Idaho, which became certified in June of 2020. With a farm name like that, we knew they’d have some insight to share!
Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): Where are you located?
We are in Heyburn, Idaho. We are a high desert that is known as the “Magic Valley” because the area was nothing but sand, sagebrush, and old volcano tubes with a major water source running through (the Snake River). The river was dammed and the canal system was structured in the early 1900’s. The Magic Valley consists of 8 counties and is now the most agriculturally productive area in the US Northwest.

CNG: How long have you been farming?
My great-great grandparents were some of the original homesteaders in the Magic Valley in 1908. We are still farming the same land that they settled. I have taken several sabbaticals from the farm, leaving for college and living in Boise for several years and then taking a detour to Florida were I met my husband Geoff, who grew up on a small farm in Tennessee. We moved back to Idaho a year after we married and have been full time farmers ever since.

CNG: How did you first get into farming, and how did you eventually decide to grow garlic?
Once we moved back to Idaho, some of the land that my dad and grandfather had farmed for years had been sold or rented to other farmers, so we needed to find a product that we could farm on a very limited acreage. 

We considered several different specialty crops when a neighbor told us he had a friend who grew garlic, was retiring, and did very well on 4-6 acres a year growing garlic. We got the address and knocked on his door, talked with him for hours on end and bought out his seed stock and the implement to “pop” the holes in the ground for perfect spacing.  

CNG: Why is it important that your garlic farm is Certified Naturally Grown? 
When we first moved back to Idaho, I was attending classes to become certified organic. At one of those classes we met Richard Feucht, who is CNG farmer at Prairie Winds Heritage Farm. He talked about Certified Naturally Grown with so much passion that I looked it up when I got home. Several months later I was talking with a farmer in Texas that also mentioned CNG and said he preferred them to certified organic, again with passion for the peer inspections and farmers keeping farmers in check. Growing naturally is hard, and when someone next door sees the work you do and does the same things to keep their ground and crops more natural it is encouraging, like having a gym partner that makes you show up every day.

Sometimes it is saddening to drive by fields that don’t have weeds but hasn’t had anyone physically walking the land for weeks, where we are out with hoe in hand to keep the weeds at bay. It’s a matter of finish and start over, keep ahead of it. But when you dig down and find the earthworms and the dark rich land you know you are doing the right thing. Chemicals are killing the soil. I grew up on the farm doing the same things we do today, but traditional farming has changed and it is hurting the end customers with all the cheap food full of poisons that make the fields look pretty. I believe that Certified Naturally Grown reflects my farming values and reassures customers that I’m growing garlic using ecological methods. 

CNG: Please tell us about any farming heroes or mentors of yours.
My Dad. He retired a few years ago, but he is still up and out in the garden or working on an old tractor before dawn, at it all day, and in bed by 9 so he can start all over again. He never stopped, not when I was growing up, not now. He is very inspiring.

CNG: How did you come to have a commitment to sustainability?
I had noticed insects disappearing; worms, grasshoppers, junebugs, bees, mayflies. At first I didn’t think much about it.

When I first met my husband he had some major digestive issues. There are things his body won’t tolerate and it has been hard on his overall health for over 15 years. After meeting him, I became more aware of other people and the stories about their health; skin issues, seizures, headaches, cancers, etc. Even with ‘good diets’ and most people didn’t see a change unless they started growing their own food (or buying from verified sources).

After health awareness my attention came back to the insects. What happened, why are there very few, if any left? It’s puzzling that other farmers aren’t asking the same questions.

I feel that eventually farming will return to a grass roots, sustainable growing. Even people that live in an apartment can grow some garden herbs in their kitchen windows or a bunch of lettuce or tomatoes on their patios. It’s hard, I know it’s hard with all the stuff going on in life, but your body feels so much better. And health, for the rest of my life, is why I continue to grow in a sustainable way. I want those earthworms and other microorganisms growing in my soil, it makes me happy, and I want to have the drive and energy that my Dad has, wanting to get up and get outside at any age–it’s a drive for my life.

CNG: What is your favorite fact about garlic?
Garlic has been used for thousands of years and has even been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. The Egyptians believed that garlic would protect the pharaoh’s body from evil spirits in the next life. They believed in this protection so strongly that they would eat cloves of garlic before taking any journey at night to shield them from misfortune and evil, and that the garlic would also provide them with strength. 

Certified Naturally Grown is pleased to be partnering with Organic Growers School on a multi-year project to offer courses on production methods for ecological farmers. We will have more information to share about that soon. Meanwhile…
We thought many in our community would be interested to learn about their upcoming 7th Annual Harvest Conference. It is being offered online for the first time this September 11 & 12, which makes it easier for all members of the CNG community to participate! Read on to learn more about this and other educational opportunities with Organic Growers School!

 
Organic Growers School (OGS), a nonprofit offering affordable classes on organic growing and sustainable living, has traditionally prioritized in-person learning. However, in light of CO-VID 19 as well as the increased demand for online education over the past few years, OGS has decided to move all upcoming programming online, making these robust educational offerings available to growers from anywhere.
First up will be their Gardening Victoriously webinar with Derek Haynes (“The Crazy Botanist”) on August 27th. Shortly after, the 7th Annual Harvest Conference will take place online Friday and Saturday, Sept 11 & 12, 2020 with intensive workshops from 9:30AM to 4:30PM each day. The Conference features six full-day workshops with outstanding guest speakers. Recordings of the classes will also be available for purchase, and full scholarships are available for farmers and food activists.
The workshops being offered are as follows:
Cherokee Foods with Amy Walker, Mary Crowe and Tyson Sampson

  • Friday 9/11: Gathering & Wildcrafting
  • Saturday 9/12: Cultivating Traditional Crops
    Farm Business with Cee Stanley
  • Friday 9/11: The NC Hemp Industry
  • Saturday 9/12: Brand Your Small Farm for Fundraising Success
    Herbal Tonics with Patricia Kyritsi Howell
  • Friday 9/11: Spring & Summer Tonics
  • Saturday 9/12: Fall & Winter Tonics
    Note that the day-long workshops are all independent. Participants can sign up for a workshop on Friday and/or Saturday and receive a discount for registering for both days, no matter which instructor (mix & match!). The cost for a single day is $70, and $125 for both days. Details on the workshops and how to register can be found online.
    Subsequent online programming at OGS includes:
  • Farm Beginnings, a year-long training program for farmers early in their careers;
  • Holistic Crop Management, a 6-part webinar series for vegetable farmers, and
  • Homestead Dreams, a 1-day workshop on land-based living.
    Register at www.organicgrowersschool.org and then livestream from anywhere!

Vera and Slava Strogolov are scientists and beekeepers who believe that microbes can change the world. They put their passion into practice through their business, Strong Microbials, the first company to create probiotics for honeybees. Welcome to our Business Allies community, Strong Microbials!
Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did Strong Microbials get started?
As scientists, we found work in the agricultural probiotics industry. This work was very interesting for years before we started our own business. Vera holds a Ph.D. in biology from Marquette University. Slava is a microbiologist who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is also a Veteran and has served as a field medic in the U.S. Army. Together, we use the power of science and microbes to transform the agricultural industry, creating a healthier world, and a stronger future. In 2012, we started Strong Microbials to grow the beneficial microbes ourselves. Through our friendship with two master beekeepers and a gift of two hives from them, we began our beekeeping journey. With the support, and feedback of these master beekeepers, SuperDFM-HoneyBee was born, and Strong Microbials became the first microbial company to create probiotics for honeybees.
CNG: What are Strong Microbials’ core values?
Research, quality and integrity.
At Strong Microbials, we believe in the power of microbes to change our world. Our research has proven that inoculants and probiotics hold an important key to preserving our resources and unlocking potential energy. We have proven that creating the right balance for an optimal ecosystem makes way for a prosperous future.

CNG: How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?
We’ve worked with farmers and beekeepers who talked about or supported CNG, including the former editor of Bee Culture magazine Kim Flottum. We found that we share in the goals and values of Certified Naturally Grown and want to support this network of responsible farmers and beekeepers.
CNG: How could Certified Naturally Grown benefit Strong Microbials’ customers?
We hope that through our relationship with CNG more of our customers become aware of best practices consistent with natural standards, as well as knowledge of the CNG certification available to them. We hope that this will increase the value of their agricultural product, and help them reach new consumers.
CNG: What are some exciting developments at Strong Microbials our CNG community can look forward to?
Strong Microbials is anticipating the completion of some interesting scientific studies in the near future. We will also be launching new microbial products, and registering new microbial strains in the coming months and years.
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in North America?
We already see more responsible agricultural antibiotic use, brought on by the FDA Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), in the past decade. Farm systems in North America are replacing the antimicrobial and antibiotic treatments with microbial and probiotic treatments. We are excited to see these changes that will benefit both farmers and consumers.
CNG: Is there anything else CNG beekeepers and farmers should know?
Microbes Rule! They are the unseen factor in everything on the farm – soil, plant, and animal health!

Flashback to another time (Autumn, 2019): Two farmers inside a tunnel completing a peer inspection, without masks 

When we asked the Certified Naturally Grown membership how we could better support them during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the number one request was for flexibility with CNG’s peer inspection requirement. People were concerned about the health risks posed by such a contagious virus. We wanted to help keep our members healthy, so we’ve granted flexibility with inspection deadlines as a stopgap solution.
But for the long run, it was important to investigate alternative, safe approaches to conducting peer inspections – ones that would protect the health and safety of our members. It seemed very unlikely the pandemic would just disappear in a few months. So we began to explore the option to conduct remote inspections via video call, where the farmer receiving the inspection gives a live virtual tour of their farm and fields questions from their peer inspector who is at another location.
In April and May we piloted twenty remote inspections, carefully pairing some our most experienced CNG farmers with members needing an inspection. The feedback we received based on these experiences was overwhelmingly positive, especially from the experienced members who had conducted multiple in-person inspections over the years. We held group discussions over videoconference to debrief about their experience. 
There was general agreement that remote inspections provided several distinct advantages, beyond the need to protect the health of the farmers participating. Among these advantages were:

  • The opportunity to connect with experienced farmers who would otherwise be too far away to conduct/receive the inspection
  • The inclination to do more preparation work ahead of the inspection, which helped ensure it was a robust experience
  • Greater efficiency and focus, as there were fewer distractions, and the farmer being inspected wasn’t as nervous
  • Less time spent traveling to and from the farm being inspected
    Of course, there are obvious limitations to remote inspections – you can’t smell the soil, and you’re dependent on the farmer to point the camera. However, these limitations were not seen to be substantial enough to override the benefits of remote inspections. Rather, we put in place a set of policies that would help diminish the risks and limitations that this approach might impose. 
    Our Remote Inspection Policy outlines the criteria for determining who is eligible to conduct and receive a remote inspection.
    And we developed a resource for participating farmers to ensure remote inspections are as robust as possible. Our Remote Inspection Checklists specify what to do before, during, and after the remote inspection, for both the farmer and the inspector.
    We will continue to refine these policies based on our direct experiences and the needs of our members. Thanks to all who have participated and provided feedback so far. Your input is essential to help us stay nimble and evolve with these changing times!
    Share your thoughts here
    Photo credit: Steve Merkel

Farm Brigge connects farmers, eaters, farm workers and farmer’s markets through an online platform full of educational resources and communication and marketing tools. Right now, there are thousands of farmers, farmer markets, eaters and more than 500 farmer’s markets participating in this thriving online community. We recently had a chance to interview co-founder Troy Rice about the story behind Farm Brigge and its many angles. Thank you for joining our Business Allies program, Farm Brigge!
Are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? 
Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did Farm Brigge get started?
My wife, Tiffany, and I started Farm Brigge because we believe in the value of local food, local economies, and the strength of communities committed to health. 
After deciding to educate our kids on knowing where their food comes from and challenging the ingredients in packaged food, we began exploring how we can help other parents provide the same education for their kids.
We began having discussions with other parents about local farms, farmers markets and reading labels, sharing interesting information such as how many packaged foods contain food dyes, which, through our own research, we discovered can alter the behavior of a child’s neural network. 
With a mission to advance our cause, we started developing relationships with local organizations who shared similar missions and visions around local food.
After 6-8 months of research and learning, we designed an online farmers market model in Michigan in 2019 that would span across 22 farmers markets and support over 65 local farms and food producers.
Throughout our journey, we spent most of our time at the kitchen tables of farms learning how we can help. This led us to pivot our business of creating a local ecosystem of locally grown, healthy food towards a vision of maintaining long term health through sustainable local economic systems across the world.

CNG: What are Farm Brigge’s core values?
We believe in helping those who spend tireless days in the soil growing and raising nutrient-dense foods for us to lead healthier lives.  
We believe that everyone should know where their food comes from.
We believe in creating environments that cultivate educational food journeys for our youth, teaching them to know their local farmers, consume foods that are nutrient dense, and inspire them and others to lead healthier lives surrounded by the people they love and support. 
How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?
Our goal is to support organizations with similar missions. We became a business Ally of CNG because we wanted to help an organization focused on providing value to the farming community. We think CNG helps create educational opportunities for consumers to appreciate how their food is grown or raised. 
CNG: What are some exciting developments at Farm Brigge our CNG community can look forward to?
Farm Brigge has created an ecosystem for creating micro-communities around local food. Our new platform provides services for farms, farm workers, farmers markets and local consumers, all of which help build a community around local food and cultivate opportunities for food literacy programs for todays youth and generations to come. Lastly, we are building relationships with organizations focused on local food policy implementation, including the Center for Good Food Purchasing. Policy implementation is an area we believe is a ‘must’ for building and sustaining system in the community around local food.
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in North America?
Farm Brigge believes that the economics of large-scale farming has contributed to low-nutrient quality food and subpar growing practices, which not only affects the economics of small farms producing high-quality foods, but also the health of our children. 
Therefore, we believe the best approach to improving farm systems begins with the foundational level of education, beginning at a young age, and, a consistent practice of the learning cycle—teach, learn, teach.  
CNG: Is there anything else CNG farmers and beekeepers should know?
Every day, we strive towards perfection as a community of people focused on sharing the importance of local food. Because we know our expertise exists within certain boundaries, we believe in leveraging years of practice from others to build the best educational journey possible.
As such, we have created an online resource of educational tools, in which most of the concepts and practices are shared and created by other farmers and knowledgeable business professionals.  
We invite all farmers and beekeepers to consider checking out our Farm Sustainability Course Program. And, if interested, share their practices with others, by creating their own educational course materials for other farms and beekeepers across the world to access. Contact us at hello@farmbrigge.com to learn more about this opportunity which they can also access through their dashboard on our platform.

True Leaf Market provides high quality non-GMO seeds to residential and professional growers alike. They have become the go-to company for many micro-greens producers, and even provide online growing information, like this article about when to start your garden

We spoke with True Leaf co-founder Parker Garlitz to learn more about the company and their wide variety of seeds, including for flowers, vegetables, grasses, herbs, sprouts, and wildflowers. Welcome to the CNG Business Allies community, True Leaf Market!
Are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? 
Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did True Leaf Market Seed Company get started?
Parker Garlitz (PG): Our roots extend all the way back to the early 1970s when our two flagship brands were founded. Mountain Valley Seed Company began as a catalog flower and garden seed company. Around that same time, Handy Pantry was founded as a specialty seed company focused on countertop gardening starting with sprouts, and eventually expanding to indoor herb gardening, wheatgrass and microgreens. These two established seed companies came together in 2014 to form True Leaf Market.
CNG: What are True Leaf Market Seed Company’s core values?
PG: We want everyone to experience the joy of growing. We are committed to offering sustainable, non-GMO seeds and products, along with information and support to encourage new growers. We are certified organic with a large selection of organic options. We pride ourselves in premium seed, competitive pricing, outstanding customer services and fast fulfillment.
CNG: How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?
PG: We are proud of the seed industry and are anxious to be involved in organizations that work for the betterment of the industry.
CNG: How does Certified Naturally Grown support True Leaf Market Seed Company’s customers?
PG: We want everyone to reconnect with nature through the joy of growing naturally. CNG helps us reinforce that goal for our customers and gives them that added assurance.
Where the magic happens!
CNG: What are some exciting developments at True Leaf Market Seed Company our CNG community can look forward to?
PG: We are a growing company and are working hard to expand our product lines, especially in gardening seeds, microgreens seeds, and growing supplies. We hope to double our offerings over the coming years.
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in America?
PG: We’d restore more balance between smaller family farms and corporate agri-business. We’d love to see more small farms growing naturally, sustainably and non-GMO. We’d also get many more people growing at least some of their own food whether that is through traditional gardening, or countertop gardening like microgreens.
CNG: Is there anything else CNG farmers and beekeepers should know?
PG: We’d be honored for an opportunity to earn your business.

…are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog?

With the input of CNG beekeepers, we created two new market safety signs, and one Proud to Be sign!
Like our market safety signs for farmers, the signs promoting social distancing and masks cost only $1 each. Our “Proud to Be” sign featuring a beehive, wildflowers and honeybees is $5.
All of these new signs are available to our members in the CNG store. Note that (as always) you’ll need to be logged in to your certification account to see marketing items like these, since they are only available to Certified Naturally Grown producers, not the general public.
If your apiary isn’t yet Certified Naturally Grown, we encourage you to consider joining CNG today. Together we’re stronger!

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